Canada's Federal Court Rules Against Crypto Freeze in Trucker Protests
Summary:
The Federal Court of Canada deemed the emergency law, used to curb funds and crypto donations towards protesting truck drivers, as unreasonable and unconstitutional. The law had been utilized by the Trudeau government to freeze assets flowing to truckers protesting COVID-19 vaccination requirements. Several organizations, including the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA), critiqued the government's use of the act as excessive and unconstitutional. Following the verdict, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced the government's decision to appeal. The protests received significant financial support via cryptocurrencies, though the exact amount is uncertain due to the decentralized nature of digital assets.
The Federal Court of Canada has decreed the emergency legislation, used by the government to restrict fund and crypto donations to protesting truck drivers, as irrational and unconstitutional. On January 23, Justice Richard Mosley determined no national emergency warranted the implementation of the Emergencies Act, thus its application was indisputably unreasonable. The Trudeau administration had deployed these laws in February 2022 in an unprecedented move to arrest the inflow of cryptocurrencies and other funds to truck drivers opposing COVID-19 directives - a decision the court found to be unconstitutional. Truck-driving protestors, part of the "Freedom Convoy," had staged a blockade on Ottawa's streets, expressing their dissent against the compulsory full COVID-19 vaccination for truckers traversing the U.S-Canada border. The government had justified the Emergencies Act, citing the protests as illicit occupation. The Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA), the Canadian Constitution Foundation, among others, protested the government’s utilization of the emergency law to cut off funding, branding it excessive and unconstitutional. In the wake of the verdict, the CCLA stated it "establishes an important and indelible precedent for every ensuing government." As per Mosley, the government “can't resort to the Emergencies Act on the grounds of convenience or potential efficiency in comparison to other alternatives available to it or the provinces,” advocating its usage only as a last resort. Meanwhile, Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland announced the government's intent to appeal the judgement.
In the 2022 trucker protests, cryptocurrencies were instrumental in gathering finances; it's been projected that the truckers received donations amounting to millions, but the exact sum remains indeterminable owing to the difficulty of tracking decentralized digital assets. During the same period in February, GoFundMe suspended over $9 million in gathered donations for the protests. Thereafter, the planning moved to Tallycoin, a Bitcoin-based crowdfunding platform, on which the HonkHonk Hodl group managed to garner around 22 Bitcoin (BTC), equivalent to approximately $925,000. GiveSendGo, a Christian crowdfunding site, became another significant fundraising platform, accruing donations exceeding $8 million for the truckers, inclusive of several unspecified crypto donations. However, bank accounts connected to GiveSendGo donations were later frozen by the Canadian authorities. Various crypto executives, including Kraken founder Jesse Powell, expressed their disapproval of Canada's asset freeze.
Published At
1/24/2024 5:28:51 AM
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